Turnabout Deception
by SomewhatOtaku
Summary: After Kristoph's arrest, everything was normal. But, things only stay normal for so long when you're Apollo Justice. When Klavier is framed for the murder of 15 people and counting, Apollo has to find the true culprit. But, solving a mystery is always hard when everyone's a suspect, and it's even harder when you learn how much you have to lose in the process.
1. Chapter 1: Wrongfully Jailed

He couldn't believe that he had been so stupid. That he thought that after all of the drama involving Kristoph was over, life would return to normal.

It didn't.

It has all started with the first death. Klavier had been there to witness it, too. That night, Klavier was at a club, with not a care in the world, because that was the one time that he decided to forget everything bad that had happened to him, when a man dropped dead onto the middle of the floor, with no warning whatsoever. It didn't stop from there. The news would constantly go on and on about the newest victims. No one knew the motive of the killer, and no one had the slightest idea who it was. The only thing they knew is that every single death was by poisoning, and every single person killed were some kind of lawyer.

Klavier felt himself shudder at how he seemed like a perfect target for the killer. The good thing was that Herr Wright and family were safe and that he was most likely safe if they were. At least that's what he tells himself. He knows that there's a bunch of things that they could be planning just to trick him so he could laugh at Klavier's fear. That's what Kristoph had wanted, right? He had failed him, so this was what he deserved, right?

Ever since the murders started, two things had happened. The first was the fact that Herr Forehead was trying to get him to open up a little bit more. He, along with everyone else involved with the case was very tense, because they all had the same thought process; that Kristoph had escaped. However, there was no news about that happening, so he supposed there was some other crazed murderer that liked killing lawyers. The second thing, however, was the relentless amount of questions he had gotten from reporters. They thought that he of all people would know something. They thought that Klavier wanted revenge on the people who put his brother away. It was stupid, really considering the fact he was one of the people who put his brother where he is now. Why would he want revenge? What he did was wrong, and Kris deserved what he had got.

What disrupted him from his idle thought, however, was his phone ringing.

"Ja, who is it?" He answered after picking up the phone."

"Klavier! Yeah, um, something really weird just happened." said the voice, which happened to be Apollo.

"What is it?" Klavier asked, his voice laced with concern of the fact that it had to be important for him to call, nevertheless answer like that.

"Well, this girl came in, and she asked me if I could help her, with 'something that's going to happen?' She hadn't even told me her name, she just seemed genuinely distressed over something, and I'm kind of worried what that could be. She said that she had to come back later because she wasn't supposed to be there. Do you think she knows something about the murders that have been going on lately?

"Shouldn't she have gone to the police? I mean, I don't think there's much you could've done for her if she does know something. Why would she have chosen there, out of all the places in the world?"

"I think Mr. Wright has something to do with this. He's been downright creepy for awhile now."

"Do you think he could be involved too? He most likely would've told someone if he was, but it's still a good question."

"To be honest, I don't know. I just don't know what goes through Mr. Wrights head. He's just really mysterious sometimes, and it's hard to understand why he does all that."

"Hopefully it'll be okay. You've dealt with weirder things before, ja?" Klavier smiled as he said this. They've all grown so much in such short time, which was amazing really.

"You're right Klavier. I've got to get back to work, but hopefully, we can talk again later?" He could practically imagine him playing with his antenna-like hair, right as he was saying that. Cute.

"Goodbye, Herr Forehead." Klavier chuckled, hanging up to the sound of Apollo yelling, "don't call me that!" indignantly.

When he hung up the phone, there was a loud knock at the door. It was probably another one of the reporters, but he got up to go answer it anyway. He barely had time to ask what was the matter when he opened the door.

* * *

Apollo sat on the couch, his brows furrowed in thought. Ever since the murders have been going on, he's felt particularly uneasy. All the news did was add even more stress to the amount he already had. He was struggling to pay his bills, and he rarely got enough sleep at night, so the fact that there was someone out there who probably wanted to kill him didn't help. He couldn't imagine how Klavier felt, though. He still wasn't over the fact that his brother had been put in jail (Neither was he, to be honest, but that didn't matter as much at the moment). Still, people had the audacity to say that Klavier was behind those murders, which was absurd. Klavier couldn't even leave his house without people trying to shove a camera in his face. Apollo had no idea how he could live like that, he had no tolerance for people like that

"You know Polly, if you keep your face like that, you're going to get wrinkles before you're thirty," Trucy said. She had come out of nowhere, which startled him slightly.

"I'll be fine Trucy, I don't make that face that often..."

"I don't think so, you make that face at least 5 times a day, tops before Daddy has to shake you back to reality."

Apollo smiled and sat up a little, "You know, having that much sodium in a week isn't good for you, but I don't say anything to you"

"That's different, though! Eldoon's noodles are good, all frowning does is give you wrinkles!"

Apollo smirked, "I'll get wrinkles, you'll get high blood pressure, I'll live past 70, you'll have a heart attack from all that salt."

"You're no fun, Polly! You're always such a party pooper!" Trucy says while sticking her tongue out at him.

Trucy suddenly gasped, and pointed at the TV. Apollo whipped his head around to see what was the matter. The television read, 'Breaking News, Klavier Gavin Is Arrested for Mass Murders! Was Gavin Really Behind It All?' The news was live apparently because Apollo could see Klavier being forced into the police car, his protests unheard by the police officers there. One of the police officers at the scene were being interviewed on why they chose to arrest him. "Well, Gavin was known to be at one of the scenes at the time of the crime. He's also the only person with a clear motive, so unless he's proven innocent, he's going to be locked up for a very long time," he said.

At this Apollo turned off the T.V, and started to get up, but Trucy grabbed his arm to stop him. "Apollo, where are you going?" she asked.

"To the Detention Center, where else?"

"...We're going to defend him, right Polly?"

"Of course we are, why wouldn't we?"

"I just thought, that you thought he was guilty. I just wanted to make sure."

After she said this, a very frantic knock was at the door. Apollo cautiously got up, and slowly opened the door.


	2. Chapter 2: Tears and Goodbyes

A short figure immediately crashed into Apollo, sending him stumbling backward. They were muttering apologies, as they did so too.

"May I help you...?" Apollo asked with uncertainty, unsure if he should help the person, or leave them be for now.

"This is all my fault, all of it, I'm so, so sorry." It had turned out to be the girl from earlier, she had ended up coming back, just at an inopportune time.

Apollo sighed his foot tapping in annoyance, "I understand this is important, but I really need to be somewhere right now, so I'd appreciate if we could do this at a later time-"

"Polly," Trucy interrupted him,"What if she has something important to say about the whole situation here? We can always see Klavier later, ya know.

Trucy was right, irritatingly so. He beckoned the girl to a seat and took the seat across from her. The girl looked away and began to speak, "I-I knew that this would happen, I knew that someone would be blamed for the deaths, I just, I didn't come in time! I just-"

Apollo rested his hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her that way what she was saying could come out more coherently, "Relax, take a deep breath and just explain to us what's bothering you."

She visibly relaxed (even if it was just a little bit) and spoke slowly, "I'm one of the only people who knows the details about the murders, at least I'm probably the only one who'll talk. I knew that someone would've gotten blamed, but I was too scared to speak up about what's happening, and now look where it got Klavier."

Apollo frowned slightly when she had mentioned Klavier's name. There were a bunch of questions that were begging to be answered, but he knew that he had to wait. On the plus side, his bracelet hadn't tightened, which was great, because people aren't normally truthful in bad situations this. "First, why did you come to us out of all people. I'm sure the police would've gladly helped you out."

The girl bit her lip for a second, and then answered, "I planned to go to the police first, to help clear things up, it's just that everything has gotten out of hand, and I was scared that if I went to them, the whole mess would've blown completely out of proportion, I mean, more than it already is of course."

Apollo's bracelet had tightened, making it aware that she was holding something back. He didn't push her further because that could come much later when he wasn't focused on something, rather someone else. "So, what's your point? What are you trying to accomplish here..?"

"I want to help you, Mister Justice. You want to prove Klavier's innocence, right? Well, if the police can't find anything, I doubt you could by yourself, so I feel like I should help you find the real killer if that's okay with you."

There was something very off about this whole exchange. It was justified to be suspicious in this whole situation but part of him wanted to just trust her. She had made a good point, though, and he would need all the help he could get. He nodded, "Alright then," he sat up, "You'll tell us everything you know?"

"Yeah, but, I'll tell you when and where I can talk to you, alright? It's just I-I'm busy, with work and stuff, so I won't always have the time to talk."

His bracelet had tightened once again, and he frowned, partially wanting to question her further, but he knew he had other things to do, and time was ticking. Trucy nudged him slightly, and he looked over. "You know, you never asked for her name, and I'm pretty sure that's important too," she said.

"Oh, yeah!" Apollo scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "What's your name, anyway?"

"Doe Arduino. It was a pleasure to meet you, and I understand you have something else to do, right?"

"Right! I guess I'll see you later?"

Doe gets up and nods, walking out the door and Trucy smiles, waving, at her retreating figure,"Bye-Bye! We'll see you later!" she said.

Doe felt tears streaming down her face as she left.

* * *

Apollo tried his best to force a smile despite the situation. The smile wasn't for him, it was for Klavier, who needed to muster up even more hope then he himself did. It was all going to be okay, he just had to prove his innocence, and he would be free, and everything would go back to normal.

As he walked over to the visitor's room, he thought of what he was going to say to him, to comfort him, to reassure him. He just hoped he was taking this whole thing well, and that he would just hold on. He must be miserable right now, he thought.

When he first saw him, he gasped quietly in surprise. Klavier looked like he had aged 10 years in the couple of hours he had been there. Despite looking like a wreck, he still had a weak smile on his face. He sat down in front of him and calmed himself. He felt like punching the wall right about now, and he wasn't even the one in jail. The least he could do is try to compose himself.

"So, how's it holding up in there?" Apollo asked, and then mentally scolded himself. It was quite obvious he was drained and somewhat depressed at the moment, but yet his idiot brain had decided to ask that anyway. Real smooth Apollo.

Klavier however, seemed to be unaffected by that question, which Apollo was quite grateful for. "Despite the circumstances, I suppose I could be worse, Apollo."

He shuddered slightly at the use of his name, which Klavier almost never called him by. "I'm defending you, Klavier. It's going to be alright, we're going to get you out of here."

Klavier smiled, "I believe you, don't worry Apollo. You're my first visitor, you know that?"

"I would've come sooner, but the girl came back last moment. It turns out she does know something about the murders, so there's that going for us."

"I appreciate the effort no matter what," his breath hitched slightly and he looked away, "Apollo, you've always been there for me when I needed someone, even when there was no one else to be there. Thank you."

Apollo didn't know what to say because all he wanted to do right now is give Klavier a hug, and tell him that he didn't deserve any of the crap that was coming his way. All he had said, though, was, "It's only the right thing to do, you deserve better than this."

Klavier straightened up, wiping his eyes with his hand, "Forgive me for that, I didn't mean to get all emotional on you."

"It's alright Klavier, you can do that any time you need to," he started to get up and sighed. He needed to go, he couldn't stay there all day, but yet he wanted to because he needed him more than ever. Apollo shook the thought away, "I guess I'll see you soon Klavier. I promise that I'll try to visit every day."

Klavier smiled, and waved, "Goodbye Herr Forehead, I'll see you later."

Apollo at least felt slightly better, if he was stable enough to go and call him that annoying pet name, he was going to be fine, right? "I'll see you soon Klavier," he said, lingering for a couple seconds before walking away.

As soon as he heard the door close, Klavier wept.


	3. Chapter 3: Another Victim

(A/N: This chapter is skippable, but it just hints at what's to come. Thanks for readng!)

Phoenix woke up to the sound of his phone ringing. He almost left his phone to ring until the person gave up, so he could return to his peaceful slumber, but something in him told him that he really should pick up the phone. So he did.

"...Hello?" Phoenix said drowsily. He rubbed his eyes. It was 3 am. What sane person calls a person at 3am again? He thought, very annoyed.

"NIIIIIIIICK!" He jumped back, alarmed, his ears still ringing. He knew who it was, he knew his voice from a mile away.

"Larry," Phoenix said, already becoming exasperated, "Why would you call me at 3 in the morning? Are you insane?!"

"Sorry Nick," Larry said, sounding not even a bit sorry for the disruption of his friend's sleep, "But this girl swerved me! I was being nice, trying to act like a gentleman, and she was really into it, she bought me a drink and everything! But when I tried to get her number, you know what she did? She threw her drink at me and ran away!"

"You couldn't tell me this at, I don't know, a more reasonable time? I have to sleep."

"Yeah but...I don't exactly have the money for a cab. I kind of spent it all on drinks."

"Are you serious Larry?"

"I was trying to impress her Nick! You know the ladies love generous men!"

"You know I don't have a car, Larry. The buses don't run at this hour either. Are you sure you have absolutely no money at your apartment?"

"Yeah, that was the last of my paycheck. Don't worry Nicky, I'll pay you back later!"

Phoenix doubted this, but he wasn't going to have his friend wait outside for 3 hours. "I'll send a taxi to come get you, and you can sleep on the couch until morning."

"Thank you so much, I was worried I was going to have to call Edgey! That would be scary for sure!"

"I bet it would Larry, I bet it would."

* * *

Later that morning, Phoenix woke up to a knock on his door. He yawned, still tired from his broken sleep. "Come in," he said.

Trucy walked in, smiling greatly, "'Morning Daddy," she said bringing a cup of coffee with her and placing it on his nightstand, "Papas here, so I woke you up. He wants to talk to you."

"Thanks, sweet pea," he said, taking a sip. He looked at the time. Didn't Miles have work today? If he came all the way to his apartment when he had work, then it had to be important. Getting up slowly, bringing his coffee with him, and ruffling Trucy's hair before he walked out the door. When he opened the bedroom door, he saw two things. He saw Larry, sprawled out on his couch, snoring loudly. He also saw Miles sitting in the other chair reading a book. He walked over to Miles and looked over his shoulder, "Morning Miles, he said, putting one hand on the other's shoulder.

Miles looked up and sighed softly, "Good morning Phoenix. I hope you've slept well?"

"I would have if Larry here didn't want a ride at 3 in the morning," Phoenix said while shaking his head and smiling.

"I don't want to know," Miles said, a small grin threatening to appear on his face. "While I know I haven't come to visit lately, today is strictly business. There is simply too much work involving Klavier's case." He held out a thin folder. "This is for Mr. Justice. These contain the autopsy reports for all 15 people. We have gathered several or so witnesses for trial."

Phoenix raised his eyebrow slightly, "I know that you're not here to see me, and you easily could've sent Gumshoe or Ema with these. Why are you here?"

Miles lowered his voice, "There's been another victim. However, this one despite the odds has managed to survive. Once he starts to recover, we may question him."

"Have we got his name?"

"It was Winston Payne, he was found at the Gatewater Hotel, unconscious. If his wife hadn't called 911, he might not have made it. He was at the Lotus Casino last night with his wife, Penelope. They were celebrating their anniversary. It's all over the news."

Larry shot up, much to the surprise of Phoenix and Miles. "Say that name again Edgy!" He yelled, his eyes widening.

"L-Lotus Casino...?" Miles said, caught off guard.

Larry jumped out of the chair, "I was there last night! I was there! It could've been me almost dead! What if the killer was the girl who splashed her drink on me!?" Larry screamed, his eyes widening.

Miles sighed, "Larry, there's a minuscule chance that any harm would've come to you. Not only do you not fit the serial killers description, but I bet there were hundreds of people at the casino that night, and I doubt the one girl who you talked to was them."

"But it could be," Phoenix said. "We don't know as yet, so we can't just ignore what happened Larry, did you see Winston Payne? You remember him from my first trial, don't you?"

"You mean that old dude with the balding hair? He hasn't retired yet?"

"I afraid not," Miles said, pushing his glasses up. "Which makes him a perfect target."

"Can we investigate the crime scene at this time?" Phoenix said.

"I believe so, Ms. Skye should be wrapping up. You may send Mr. Justice when he's ready." Miles said, starting to get up and collect his things.

Phoenix smiled and gave him an affectionate kiss on the cheek, "Have a good one Miles, and don't become too stressed, I know how overwhelming cases like these can get."

"Thank you Phoenix, and to you as well," Miles said, starting to leave.

Larry stood agape, "You, a-and Edgey are dating!? When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me!?"

Phoenix gave Larry and Miles a sheepish smile, "It's a long, long story."


	4. Chapter 4: Sadness with a Side of Vomit

Apollo gazed at the paperwork with uncertainty, trying to piece together anything from the vague descriptions to the little evidence. No fingerprints, no hair samples, not even a single pill left behind. This killer was careful, and that didn't make his life-Or Klavier's any easier. He had gone to visit him earlier, and he was in worse shape than he was before. His eyes had bags as if he never slept before in his life, his hair tousled and unkempt, and his face-

He just looked so...so broken.

Klavier was getting non-stop hate mail from families of the victims, most calling him names and saying vile things, one even describing how Klavier should be murdered with great detail and contempt. They even had to start checking the mail for hazards so he wouldn't get killed. And despite the murders continuing when he was arrested, Klavier wasn't going to be let out. Police questioned him on who he was working with, but they refuse to accept that he's innocent. Simply shows dumb law could be, he thought.

But despite all that, Klavier still manages to smile, and crack jokes about his forehead, and sing songs from the Gavinners like he was on stage, which always made Apollo happy, knowing that he hasn't given up yet, so he shouldn't either.

Apollo looked at Doe, who was also looking through the files, or more specifically, the pictures of the victims. You figure anyone who'd look at a bunch of corpses would at least look sad, or remorseful. She had this blank stare as if the images didn't bother her, (which wasn't easy, considering it took Apollo weeks to be able to look at dead bodies without wincing.)

She looked up from the pictures and his eyes met hers momentarily and she immediately looked away. She only made eye-contact with Trucy, and Mr. Wright wasn't able to hold a conversation with her because he scared her, (he would be too if Mr. Wright was always 3 steps behind you and gave you the If-you-try-anything-I'll-murder-you-myself look). It was apparent that he didn't trust her, and Apollo was getting there. However, he knew that they were all going to have to trust each other if they wanted to get anywhere in this case.

"All of these deaths were caused by poisoning, right?" Doe said, breaking him from his thoughts.

Apollo nodded, "Arsenic, to be exact. Smart move on the killer, considering how common it is."

"Have we figured out how they're being poisoned?" Doe said, tilting her head slightly, "I mean, it's obvious they're ingesting it, but we don't know how..."

Apollo pondered what she had just said, she was right, they hadn't known how because it hadn't seemed to be important to the case. "I assume it would've been put into food." He replied.

"It's the drinks, Apollo the drinks!" Doe said suddenly looking up and smiling. "The killer puts arsenic in the drinks, and since arsenic is tasteless, they wouldn't realize there's anything wrong with it!"

Apollo raises his head realizing her point, "And a lot of symptoms of arsenic poisoning can be mistaken for simply side effects of drinking to the general public, so no one would worry until it's too late!" Apollo raised his hand for a high-five and Doe looked at him, bewildered. He put his hand back down, looking away as his cheeks reddened in embarrassment.

"So we'd have to have the glasses the victims drank from tested for Arsenic. Do you think it was a bartender? I mean, they have close contact with drinks." Doe said, with slight uncertainty.

"Well the murders occur across different clubs and bars, and unless the murderer has 15 different jobs as a bartender, then that's unlikely."

"Hey Apollo," Doe said, looking worried, "I don't think they're working alone. It just doesn't seem likely. Everything is so...precise, so perfect that it had to be organized beforehand. Who knows how many people could be working together to do this...it's...kind of scary actually."

Apollo froze as a chill went up his spine. Her description made him think of Kristoph, which terrified him to no end. He knew that he wanted Apollo and Klavier dead, and his motives were clear. Get revenge on the lawyers who put him away, and the justice system entirely. But it wasn't just Kristoph, it was everyone who Apollo, maybe even Phoenix had put away. He knew they hated their guts and they would kill to see the tables turned, but there were so many people who wanted them all dea-Suddenly, he couldn't breathe, he felt stifled as if someone was choking him right no-

"Apollo? Apollo!?" Doe got up, visibly alarmed at the gasping lawyer in front of her. "W-whats wrong, calm down, you're okay, you're okay!"

His breathing steadied slowly, as the world came back into focus, "I-i need to go to the bathroom," he said as he ran to the bathroom and heaved. His shirt stuck to his back from the sweat and he felt so cold. He wiped his mouth and flushed the toilet, before coming back to see Mr. Wright holding Doe by the cuff of her shirt. He didn't look angry, but then again, he didn't look particularly anything. He managed to have a smile that looked anything but friendly. Just like him, Apollo thought. When Mr. Wright saw him, he gasped and let go of Doe, and she yelped and backed away.

"Apollo," Mr. Wright said cautiously, "I swear this isn't what it looks like, and if you'd let me explain then I'm sure we could-"

Doe interrupted him, "I-I should go. Goodbye Apollo, Mr. Wright." When

Apollo glared at Mr. Wright, "Well, thanks for scaring her off, I'm sure that you really, really got through to her."

"I thought she had-" Mr. Wright had begun to talk but Apollo was done.

"Thought she had what!? Really, I have my suspicions too, but I thought you of all people would handle yourself better than that. Do you think scaring the crap out of someone who's trying to help us is going to help me? Or Trucy? Or-" his breath had caught in his throat and he felt the familiar sensation of tears pricking at his eyes. He refused to

cry, not now. He had to be strong for Klavier.

Mr. Wright's expression softened, "Apollo, I'm sorry, I know I took things too far, but don't cry, okay? You're going to be alright."

Apollo slowly fell to his knees and covered his face with his hands, and started to cry. First, it was soft whimpers and small tears but it slowly escalated to loud heartbroken sobs. He felt so weak, so helpless. He could barely hold himself together now, how was he supposed to be strong for Klavier? Mr. Wright knelt down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Apollo swatted his hand away, muttering, "No, I-I'm fine." Instead of leaving him, he embraced Apollo. Apollo kept repeating the words "I'm sorry" over and over again through his sobs. Mr. Wright whispered in his ear saying things like, "You're strong Apollo," and "It'll be alright, trust me," comforting him as his sobs rang throughout the halls of the building.


End file.
